The Mind on Autopilot

The mind on auto pilot

Do you think too much? most people do and are not aware of it. I know I sometimes do. More often than I would like.

The mind is a key resource / tool for humans. It is a blessing from God. However, when the mind assumes that since it is so important and key, it starts working on “autopilot.”

The mind on autopilot is a dangerous thing. Once in that mode, it assumes that it should think and give orders to the rest of the body on its own without consulting you: The will /intent behind the mind. And sometimes we let the mind get away with it. We should not.

There are five wrong assumptions that our mind sells us, and once we buy into them, autopilot becomes the “de facto” state of the mind. These autopilot assumptions, or triggers if you will, are:

1) “You must be in control”

2) “You must solve every problem you face”

3) “The world and everybody must conform to your wishes”

4) “You cannot make mistakes”

5) “You are threatened”

If the mind convinces someone of any of these triggers then a person puts the mind on autopilot so it can “think” its way out of the threatening situation. Then good luck coming back to the real world.

All this the mind feeds us is so untrue and even counterproductive. Thinking never solves anything. Action might. Even if you believe you need a smart idea to solve a problem, thinking is not the source of good ideas. Inspiration is. Inspiration is like lightning. It occurs sometimes out of the blue, if one has the right intent and the clarity of vision. Actually, thinking clouds vision and crowds the brain from observing inspiration.

I am not saying stop thinking, but more of catching the mind going on autopilot and gently thanking it for its willingness to help, but the help cannot come from the mind. The mind should work according to your intent, but the mind should not take over the body and all your resources and waste them on fearful thinking that seldom results in anything good.

For some, this comes easy. For me, I need to keep reminding myself of this. sometimes I catch myself early after autopilot kicks in, sometimes it takes time. The more the brain is on autopilot the more time it requires to train the brain back into becoming a resource, not the leader.